Know your numbers.

This is a simple concept, but one that escapes many sales people who are struggling. Whether you are a sales person, business owner, or running a sales team, sales are how you grow your business. You need to know how many contacts, presentations, demos, and follow-ups it takes to reach your sales goals. How do you find this out?

Work backwards.

What is your sales goal?  Let’s say it’s 20 sales of X. The next question is; “What is your closing ratio?” Over the past 3 months take the number of people you’ve presented to and divide it by your closed sales. That is your closing ratio. If your closing ratio is 25%, then you know that you need to present to 80 people to hit your goal of 20 deals (20/25%=80).

What if you don’t have enough leads?

“But Michael, I don’t have 80 people to talk to every month?” Then you need to figure out a way to do so.  If they aren’t coming to your place of business then you need to find them.  Join a networking group (online or in person), join a civic organization, get involved in your community, talk to parents at your kid’s sporting events. Get to know your existing customers and add tremendous value to them. Don’t try to sell them more; instead form a long term relationship. Your customers have family, friends, and a business network that they can easily refer you to if you are providing value to them.

The fortune is in the follow-up.

Follow-up is the single most important activity you can do (and track).  Make sure you have a system to remind you when you need to follow-up on important tasks.  Also, always follow-up with a conversation that will advance the sale.  “I’m just calling to check in with you” does not advance the sale.  “I’m calling to tell you about a report that was just released that addresses your questions about the product/service you were looking at. When can we set a time so I can show you?” does advance the sale by creating excitement, adding value, and showing you listened to your prospect. Phone follow-up is most effective as you can overcome objections. Setting up a Skype (web) meeting can be effective as well, especially if there are visual items to review. It is nearly impossible to overcome objections by email or text, so I don’t suggest following-up using these methods for most situations.

Track your numbers.

This can be as simple as using an index card or Excel worksheet to track your activities. You can take this a step further and use an electronic organizer like Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar combined with a task organizer. It is optimal if you use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to track your numbers, which will also provide a way to easily manage all of your contacts and activities in one place.

CRM’s are very affordable today and there are even some free systems that are great for small businesses and solo entrepreneurs. Hubspot is one of the best free CRM solutions I have used and has many features available that you find in more expensive options.

Knowing your daily, weekly, and monthly numbers you need to achieve your goals will help you decide what activities you need to perform to reach your numbers. This, in turn, will help keep you on track from the beginning of the month to the end.

So don’t wait. Figure out your numbers and then take consistent daily action starting today to reach your goals.

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